✨ ASPN Traveling Fellowship 2026 ✨ Dr. Lisa Gfrerer, MD, PhD, @lisagfrerer@weillcornell from Weill Cornell Medicine visited UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she spent a week visiting Dr. Shai Rozen, MD, @drshairozen as part of her first stop as the 2026 ASPN Traveling Fellow! During her visit, Dr. Rozen shared his expertise in facial nerve reanimation, offering an incredible opportunity for collaboration, learning, and mentorship in peripheral nerve surgery. This is only the beginning, so stay tuned for the next stop on Dr. Gfrerer’s traveling fellowship journey! 🌍✈️
⬇️ Drop your questions for Dr. Gfrerer in the comments below!
#ASPN #PeripheralNerveSurgery #TravelingFellowship #FacialNerveReanimation #Microsurgery #PlasticSurgery #PeripheralNerve #Mentorship #AcademicMedicine
The first BIG APPLE Nerve Course 🍎 We enjoyed uniting all #nervenerds in NYC and surrounding areas at NYU yesterday and discuss all things nerve including nerve transfers, FFMT, spasticity, and breast innervation with cadaver dissection time. A course for in the books! See you next year 👋🏼
TMR and RPNI are increasingly used to address symptomatic neuroma formation and residual limb pain after amputation but what should these procedures look like on postoperative imaging?
A recent review by Mahmoud et al. examined ultrasound and MRI findings following targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) surgery.
Key imaging findings included:
Ultrasound
Successful TMR constructs demonstrate hypoechoic nerve fascicles merging into the target muscle. RPNI constructs may show degenerative and regenerative changes at the nerve–muscle junction, within the muscle graft, and along the nerve.
MRI
RPNIs are typically isointense to muscle on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images, with variable contrast enhancement.
Why does this matter?
As TMR and RPNI become more common, surgeons and radiologists need a shared understanding of expected postoperative anatomy — especially when assessing residual limb pain, suspected neuroma recurrence, or other postoperative concerns.
Peripheral nerve reconstruction is changing.
A recent two-decade TriNetX analysis by Reinoso et al. examined trends in peripheral nerve repair and grafting techniques from 2002–2022, including direct repair, autograft, allograft, synthetic conduits and vein grafts.
The study reported 33,262 peripheral nerve repair cases, with processed nerve allograft use showing the strongest upward trend in recent years. By 2022, allografts were reportedly used more frequently than autografts.
Why does this matter? Allografts are attractive because they may avoid donor-site morbidity and reduce the need for additional graft harvest. However, increasing use does not automatically mean superiority. Patient selection, gap length, wound bed, cost, outcome evidence and surgeon experience remain central to decision-making.
Takeaway:
The reconstructive ladder for peripheral nerve gaps is evolving but technique choice should remain evidence-based and patient-specific.
For digital nerve gaps, do we always need an autograft?
Autologous nerve grafting remains a trusted option for nerve gaps, but it comes with donor-site morbidity. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis compared nerve conduits versus autologous nerve grafts for digital nerve repair, focusing on sensory recovery and safety.
This is highly relevant to hand surgery practice, particularly when balancing sensory recovery, donor-site morbidity, operative time, cost, and gap length.
Does approach matter in spinal accessory nerve to suprascapular nerve transfer?
Restoring shoulder abduction and external rotation is a key priority in adult brachial plexus reconstruction. A recent study compared anterior versus posterior approaches for spinal accessory nerve to suprascapular nerve transfer in adult complete brachial plexus palsy.
The authors reported that the posterior approach was associated with superior shoulder function outcomes compared with the anterior approach, including better shoulder abduction and external rotation strength in their cohort.
How do we know a SETS transfer has been performed well?
Supercharged end-to-side anterior interosseous nerve to motor ulnar nerve transfer is increasingly used in severe ulnar neuropathy and high ulnar nerve injury but technical assessment has historically been variable.
A recent Delphi consensus study established expert-defined criteria for assessing the technical quality of SETS AIN-to-MUN transfers, including a proposed grading matrix. This is important not only for operative training, but also for improving consistency in reporting outcomes and comparing studies.
Not all nerve injury nicknames were created equal. From puns rooted in anatomy to names that tell a whole story in a few words, peripheral nerve injuries have some of the most creative nicknames in all of medicine. So, we decided to rank them! Swipe through for our completely scientific, totally objective ratings. 👀
Which nickname is your favorite? Drop it in the comments and let us know if we missed any worth ranking!👇
#PeripheralNerve #NerveNicknames #PeripheralNerveSurgery #PatientEducation
#nervenerds
Meet the Musculocutaneous Nerve 👋
Never heard of it? It’s the nerve behind every bicep 💪 curl, every time you bend your elbow, and every time you turn your palm ✋ up to catch something. Lose it, and something as simple as lifting a bag of groceries becomes a real challenge.
It originates from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus (C5–C7), runs between the biceps and brachialis, and powers elbow flexion and forearm supination. At the elbow it becomes the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve (LACN), supplying sensation to the outer forearm.
And here’s what makes it especially interesting: the LACN is also a valuable donor nerve for short upper extremity grafts, accessible in the same operative field with no patient repositioning required.
Did you know the LACN could be used as an alternative to the sural nerve for grafting? Drop your thoughts 💭 on this nerve and tag a colleague who would appreciate this post!
#MusculocutaneousNerve #LACN #peripheralnerve #MeetTheNerve #nervenerds
Patients often think that physical therapy can’t help a nerve injury, and that only time ⏳ and surgery matter. Not true!
Therapy is essential at every stage of nerve recovery. It keeps muscles and joints healthy while the nerve regenerates, and helps retrain the brain 🧠 as sensation and movement return. The nerve does the regenerating, therapy makes sure the body is ready when it arrives. 💪
Drop a ❤️ if you’ve been treated by or worked with an incredible physical or occupational therapist.
#NerveRecovery #PhysicalTherapy #HandTherapy #PeripheralNerve #PatientEducation
